Commons Sense

House of Commons · Ministers' Questions

Conversion Therapy: Legislation

Wednesday 30 November 2022 · 6 questions

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Answered 0 Partly answered 3 Not answered 0

Key points

  • Government are committed to protecting people from conversion therapy practices.
  • Government are carefully considering responses to the public consultation on banning conversion practices.
  • Government Members aim to bring a robust Bill into law to protect vulnerable people.

Topics (select to filter)

Questions & Answers

Q1 Hannah Bardell SNP
Women & Equalities
Context

There is a public consultation on banning conversion practices that closed this year. The questioner notes previous promises to ban the practice and asks for concrete steps.

Question

If the Government will take steps to help protect trans people from conversion therapy, considering the public consultation that has concluded but no action taken yet.

Answer from Kemi Badenoch

The Government are committed to protecting people from these practices. We are carefully considering the responses to the public consultation on banning conversion practices, which closed this year, and we will set out our next steps and the Government's response in due course.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific timeline or commitment for implementing a ban was not provided

How: Under Consideration

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Q2 Nia Griffith Lab Llanelli
Women & Equalities
Context

It has been eight months since the public consultation on banning conversion practices closed and four years since a promise was made to ban it. The questioner is concerned about the delay.

Question

That is a deeply disappointing answer, because every day that the Minister delays the Bill, LGBT individuals can be subject to abhorrent and deeply damaging conversion therapy. It is now eight months since the consultation closed, and four years since the Government first promised a ban, so I beg the Minister to bring forward a Bill as soon as possible. Will she reassure the House that the Government's proposed legislation will bring in a comprehensive ban on all forms of conversion therapy, and include the protection of trans people?

Answer from Kemi Badenoch

This is a very serious issue, and one reason that it is taking so long is that we are being very considered. Many of the things that people asked for when we first started talking about conversion therapy practices are different from what we are looking at now, so the scope has widened. More importantly, I reassure LGBT people that we can tackle these issues with existing law. The answer that the hon. Lady is requesting will follow on from the consultation, and that will come in due course.

Partly answered

Not addressed: Specific date or timeframe for introducing the Bill was not given

How: Under Review, Consideration

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Q3 Hannah Bardell SNP
Women & Equalities
Context

The SNP Government in Scotland has already taken action to ban conversion practices, but the current government is still delaying. The questioner expresses frustration with the lack of progress.

Question

A lot of words and no action. In 2018 a promise was made that conversion practices would be banned. Four years and four Prime Ministers later, this disastrous Tory Government are going backwards with some on their Benches actively fanning the flames of hatred and bigotry towards trans people. When will this Tory Government follow the lead of the SNP Government in Scotland, take action to ban conversion practices, and stop putting trans peoples' lives at risk?

Answer from Kemi Badenoch

The hon. Lady from the SNP is, of course, talking absolute nonsense. Government Members are legislators and what we are going to do is bring a robust Bill into law, not one that will be helpful for her to send her tweets. This is about looking after vulnerable people and not about social media campaigning.

Not addressed: Did not provide any timeline or commitment to introduce the legislation

How: Dismissal, Personal Attack

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Q4 Peter Gibson
Women & Equalities
Context

The issue of banning conversion practices has appeared in multiple Queen's Speeches but draft legislation is yet to be seen. The questioner addresses the LGBT community's anxiety over this delay.

Question

Does my right hon. Friend understand the LGBT community's anxiety when it comes to the ban? It has appeared in multiple Queen's Speeches, yet we are still to see any draft legislation.

Answer from Kemi Badenoch

My hon. Friend asks a good question. I do understand the anxiety. One of the things that I am trying to do is take a lot of the heat out of the debate. Questions such as that from the hon. Member for Livingston (Hannah Bardell), which seek to inflame anxiety and make people worried about what we are doing, are not helpful. This is something that I am committed to doing.

Partly answered

Not addressed: No specific commitment or timeline was provided

How: Calming Down Debate, Personal Attack

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Q5 James Gray Con
Women & Equalities
Context

A constituent of the questioner, Paula Wren, is proud to be both trans and a Conservative. The issue raised is about ending conversion practices.

Question

My constituent Paula Wren is proud to be trans and proud to be a Conservative. She would call straightforwardly for an end to the absurd practice of conversion therapy. It is completely unnecessary for trans people, and the sooner the Government can bring in the Bill, the better it will be.

Answer from Kemi Badenoch

I agree.

Not addressed: No concrete steps or timeline for introducing a bill were provided

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Q6 Kirsten Oswald SNP
Women & Equalities
Context

A previous Prime Minister described conversion therapy as an abhorrent practice. Some 11% of trans people in the UK have been subjected to this practice by their families, with these individuals more likely to attempt suicide.

Question

Last year, the right hon. Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss)—the most recent former Prime Minister—described conversion therapy as an “abhorrent practice” in the ministerial foreword to the Government's consultation on banning conversion therapy. Some 11% of trans people in the UK report having been subjected to that so-called therapy by their own families, and those individuals who are subjected to the practice are significantly more likely to have attempted suicide than their peers. I am disappointed in what I have heard, which seems like more kicking into the long grass. Does the right hon. Lady understand that conversion therapy is abhorrent? If so, why will her Government not commit to preventing this harm to trans people by banning the practice for everyone?

Answer from Kemi Badenoch

It is quite clear that the hon. Lady did not hear any of the answers that I have given, because she has asked something that I have answered multiple times. I refer her to the answers I gave to all those hon. Members.

Not addressed: No commitment or specific action was provided

How: Repetition, Dismissal

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